SBL Membership

The Society of Biblical Literature – De Gruyter Prize for Biblical Studies and Reception History will open for submissions on April 1, 2025.

Award

In partnership with the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), De Gruyter established the “Prize for Biblical Studies and Reception History.” There are two submission categories for the award: Textual Culture and Reception of the Bible; and Material and Visual Culture and Reception of the Bible. De Gruyter will support each category with an annual cash prize of $750. The awarded papers will be published in the Journal of the Bible and its Reception. In addition to being published, the awarded papers will be delivered at the recipient's meeting of choice (Annual, International, or Global Virtual).

The field of reception history aims to shed light on the broader horizon of the use and influence of the Bible in a wide variety of academic fields, historical periods, and cultural settings, with attention to theory and methodology as well as content. The field covers an extensive range of topics, including transmission and reception of bible(s) in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other religious as well as non-confessional traditions; in rabbinic, patristic, medieval, modern, contemporary, and postcolonial contexts; in literature, film, music, and the visual and performing arts; and in relation to politics and economics, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and a variety of other social and cultural issues. The Textual Culture and Reception of the Bible category includes textual traditions, music, literature, and law. The Material and Visual Culture and Reception of the Bible category includes material culture, visual arts, and architecture.

Qualifications for Submission

Any SBL member who has received a Ph.D. or Th.D. in biblical studies or a related field within the last ten years may submit a paper. This paper should be of publishable quality. It must not have been previously published or accepted for publication; however, a paper may be submitted that is under review by a journal or other academic press if a decision to publish has not been reached at the time of submission. If the paper was delivered at an annual or international SBL meeting, it must exhibit significant revision, as demonstrated by submission of both the original draft and the revision.

Submission Requirements

1. Applicants must submit no later than midnight (GMT -5) on 15 June 2025:

a. A dated CV

b. A paper, in English, of no more than 10,000 words including footnotes, and doubled-spaced. A bibliography is not required. If your paper is over the 10,000 word limit it will be automatically disqualified; The paper should be formatted as a PDF and submitted anonymously, that is, an author’s name should not appear after the paper’s title or in any heading; neither should any reference be made to the author within the paper in a manner that would reveal the author’s identity.

2. All materials should be submitted via the SBL Paper Awards Form page. If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt within two (2) business days, please contact Courtney Godwin.

3. Applicants may submit to only one SBL Paper Award (Achetmeier, Brooten, De Gruyter, Diamond, and Freedman) in a given year.

4. Previous winners of an award may not apply again for that same award.

Failure to follow all submission requirements will result in a paper’s automatic disqualification.

Applicants should consult the SBL Handbook of Style. The subject of the paper is open, but it must advance some dimension of reception history scholarship. The paper will be evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

1. A persuasive thesis that engages reception-historical scholarship and demonstrates quality of scholarship and significance to the field;

2. Clarity of expression and thought;

3. Originality and creativity.

The committee review process is a blind peer review. All submissions are anonymized prior to committee review.

Deadlines